Hampden Sydney College - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hampden Sydney, VA)

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THE HAMPDEN-SYDNEY KALEIDOSCOPE those who had the privilege of knowing her in the bloom of youth and in developed maturity-was a descendant in two lines of Captain Nathaniel Venable of Slate Hill, in whose office the plans were formed which culminated in the establishment of Hampden- Sydney at the head of Hudson's Branch. Her parents were Thomas Frederick Venable and Mary Priscilla Venable, whose home was Scott Green, near Farmville, Virginia. The eldest son of the young pastor and his wife was Samuel Macon Reed, who was born at Charlotte Court House, Virginia, july 4, l879-fortunate both in his heredity and in his environment. For the old County of Charlotte in those days was a center of culture, of breeding, of traditions. The Randolphs, the Henrys, the Marshalls, it is true, had gone: but the Bruces, the Carringtons, the Daniels, the Egglestons, the Friends, the Ciaineses, the Cirigsbys, the Hannahs, the Mcphails, the Mortons, the Reads, the Scotts, the Watkinses, still owned their ancestral homes. Greenfield, Moldavia, Staunton Hill and the like still radiated the atmosphere of by-gone days. The old ante-bellum civilization still survived and the fragrance of a long-gone past was lingering, after a fashion incomprehensible to one unfamiliar with the conditions which pervailed there a half-century ago. ln the late eighties, the Reeds moved to middle Tennessee and by the time their eldest son was ready for serious academic training they were living in Nashville. There the boy-full of intellectual curiosity, eager to excel, endowed by nature with marked capacity-was fortunate to be enrolled in the University School, founded and owned by Dr. Clarence B. Wallace USSOJ, a school in which two of Hampden-Sydney's present faculty have taught and in which many of the alumni of the College have been instructors. Prepared for college-much better grounded in Latin, Creek and Mathematics than most of the college graduates of these degenerate days -young Reed entered Vanderbilt University, where he studied for three sessions, l897-99 and l9Ol-02. About this time Columbia, South Carolina, became the home of the family and hence his last college year was spent at the University of South Carolina, where he graduated, the first-honor man of the Class of l905, meanwhile having taught Latin and Greek in the Presbyterian High School in Columbia, l899-l9Ul, and again in l903-04, and Mathematics and History in the High School in Rowland, North Carolina, I902-03. He was Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the University of South Carolina, l904-05: applied his Mathematics in the solution of practical problems in Charleston, West Virginia, l905-073 taught Mathematics and Science in the Peacock Military School, San Antonio, Texas, l907-083 was Head Master of the Donaldson Military School, Fayetteville, North Caro- lina, l908-I6, and was Associate Professor of Latin, Creek and Mathematics in Davidson College, l9l6-20. He taught one year at Brevard, North Carolina, and spent one year at Columbia University, New York, where he received his Master's Degree in l922. He came to Hampden-Sydney as Professor of Mathematics in l92Z and since l923 has held the office of Dean here. i A. D. 1930 1 7

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THE HAMPDEN-SYDNEY KALEIDOSCOPE Dean S. Macon Reed MID the epochal changes which have taken' place at 'Hampden-Sydney in ig lm recent years, the office of Dean has been established. Until l9l9, the president had been the sole executive officer in matters great and small. By that date duties had multiplied, the machinery had become more complicated, the routine more intricate, and it was deemed wise to relieve the situation by appointing a Dean- an officer described by a wag as a man who has to do what nobody else wants to do. It is evident how important the office must be and, withal, how onerous and nerve-racking. Upon this long-suffering official, devolves-more than upon any other-the internal management of the College. It is he who most frequently comes in contact with patrons and students, hears their tales of woe, passes upon their requests, and imposes penalties. Truly the Dean must be a man of tact, of sound judgment, of keen sense of justice, and of personal responsibility. He must have a genial manner and sympathetic heart: he must possess wisdom of a high order, must know how to temper justice with mercy and, above all, how to stand firm and yet keep the machinery running smoothly. Who is sufficient for these things? At Hampden-Sydney the answer is Dean Reed, the third Dean of the College. Who, then, is this Dean, the man who combines in such unusual degree the traits and qualities outlined above as necessary for the successful discharge of the duties of the office? In the first place, we may claim that he is a great-great-grandson of the College. It has always been a source of pride and congratulation to friends of Hampden-Sydney that throughout the passing years so many of those in whose veins flowed the blood of the founders have been actively identified with the institution as students or officials. Long ago, Dr. Hugh Blair Crigsby called attention to this, and the fact has been repeatedly emphasized since Dr, Crigsby's time--'very recently in Dr. Bagby's striking article, The Acid Test, which appeared in The Record. The rule is exemplified in Dean Reed's case. From Hampden-Sydney's point of view, this gentleman is one of The Scots wha haeng for on the distaff side he comes from the loins of those to whom Hampden-Sydney owes its being, as will be shown later on. The Dean's parents were the Rev. Richard Clark Reed, D. D., LL. D., and Mary Cantey Venable. The father, a tall Tennessean of brawn and brain, was a man among men-an eloquent preacher, a gifted writer, an inspiring teacher, a learned scholar, a loyal friend, a devout Christian. Having served in several important pastorates, he, for thirty years, filled with marked ability and success the Chair of Church History in Columbia Theological Seminary. The mother-a worthy helpmeet for her distinguished husband, a lady whose grace of person and charm of character are still fresh in the memories of lA.D. 19301 6

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THE HAMPDEN-SYDNEY KALEIDOSCOPE The Dean's active mind and vigorous body make it impossible for him to be idle: so to Fill in odd moments he has at times engaged in engineering and in cabinet work as avocations-his tastes and mathematical attainments fitting him for the work of road maker and bridge builder. His skill with tools is proved by the artistic furniture by which his attractive home is beautified. As a sideline, too, he has for many summers been director of boys' camps at Sapphire and at Black Bear in the mountains of North Carolina. The immediate family at The Deanery consists of Mrs. Reed-who, before her marriage. July Zl, l909, was Miss Louise Campbell, of Charleston, West Virginia- and two sons, Samuel Macon, jr., and Frederick Venable. In college, Dean Reed was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and he also holds membership in the National Honor Fraternity Omicron Delta Kappa, the local chapter of which he established and sponsors. It must not be supposed that the Dean's activities are limited to literary, scientific and official matters: he is likewise a powcr in the church and in the community. A ruling elder, a leader in all things philanthropic and eleemosynary, he is the friend of all and is always ready to spend and be spent for the glory of God and for the good of his fellow men. His colleagues consider him indispensable to the College and The Hill would not be what it is were another in his place. The Dean is alive! Long live the Dean! -W. H. WHITING, JR. I A. D. 1930 1 8